1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for lifting drums, and more particularly, to an apparatus constructed for lifting a standard fifty-five-gallon oil drum with a crane or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the oil field, a great many materials are handled and transported by placing such materials in a fifty-five-gallon steel drum.
When it is necessary to move materials contained in such drums, they are typically handled with a crane or the like. This is particularly true when drums are being moved from one elevation to another in a situation such as is present on an offshore drilling rig where materials are continually being loaded off of and onto barges and the like which transport the materials to the offshore rig.
The most common way of handling these drums with a crane is to place a sling about the circumference of the drum and to attach a hook from the crane to the sling. One problem with the use of such slings, however, is that unless great care is taken, the drum can inadvertently slip from the sling thus presenting a significant danger.
The prior art does include devices which provide a clamping type engagement with such a drum as a substitute for a sling. One such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,415,564 to Childers which discloses a drum hoisting beam. The Childers device includes a beam having a fixed jaw at one end for engaging a lip of one end of the drum, and a spring-biased, cam-actuated movable jaw at the other end for engaging a lip at the second end of the drum.